Letters to the editor for Sunday, January 15, 2023

Accelerate recovery on Sanibel

City government exists to enable, not prevent. Since the storm, the City Council has sought too often to control and limit instead of enabling and unlocking the potential of the island residents.  Objectively, the council has neither the expertise nor the experience to manage a disaster recovery effort.  However, with the right mindset and a bias to action, it can unlock an enable a significant acceleration of progress and speed our recovery.  The council needs to change strategy now.

1)  Shift from communications that hammer away on all that we cannot do and, instead, emphasize all that we can do.  Stop harping on illegal contracting, closed beaches, curfews, restrictions, etc.  Not only are we tired of reading it, we have stopped reading the daily communications because of it.  Turn your focus to reinforcing what every resident can do to help themselves and their neighbor.

2) Change the agenda of the City Council meetings to spend 80 percent of the time finding new ways to accelerate the rebuild, not slow it down.  For example, lobby the county and state to allow out-of-state electricians, plumbers, drywall installers and other contractors who are in desperately short supply.  Create a rapid education and cross-licensing program to lower the barriers to  doing work on the island.  If Massachusetts could license hundreds of out-of-state gas fitters to re-pipe 10,000 houses in under 100 days during the Columbia gas crisis in 2019, surely we can enable plumbers to run PEX tubing on a subtropical island with similar speed.

3) Focus on education and guidance for homeowners who are struggling to navigate insurers, massive GC firms (some that are taking advantage of the situation) and other challenges of rebuilding. There has been some of this but far too little to effectively accelerate progress. Many of us are hamstrung by the long lead times between filing claims and receiving and settling those claims. Install a team of insurance advocates that can guide and intervene where needed. This would be a welcome companion action to the state’s insurance reform and would have a much nearer-term impact.  Get the word out about financing programs like what SanCap Bank has put together -- why is that a best kept secret?

4) Hire 25 (or more) temporary building inspectors; permitting reviews should be accelerated, straightforward, and never a bottleneck.  For too long, the building department has been woefully understaffed.  Similar to out-of-state contractors, out-of-state inspectors might even bring new ideas and help beyond just clearing the permitting backlog.

5) Unlock the power of the community, especially local businesses.  It’s rare to have such a large, caring and committed community as what we have on Sanibel.  If Fort Myers Beach can organize a volunteer beach cleanup day and attract dozens of residents, what is our excuse for not doing that and more? SCCF is a tremendous resource yet we are not leaning on them to help with re-building our landscape, leveraging more native plants that will better prepare us for future events.

I hope that the council considers these recommendations seriously and does not simply discard them as has been the track record when feedback was provided in live meetings. Sanibel is as important to all of us as it is to any of you.  Many of us raised our families vacationing and living on the island.  We owe it to all for whom Sanibel has meaning to get out of the way and accelerate the recovery effort.  If the council cannot do that, what is its purpose?

Kevin McLellan, Sanibel

Parking key to island business

When people visit Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva, they come for the sand, sea, shelling and swimming. They stay in beautiful accommodations. If you're a local Fort Myers resident good luck. Beaches are beautiful but parking is inadequate and unavailable. I believe increased public parking is key to recovery. Increase public parking and businesses will have customers year-round, not just during the season. Build it and they will come, well before resort vacationers do.

Walter Konecki, Fort Myers

Surprised at new school rule

I was officiating the 1A -12 wrestling district at First Baptist in Naples on Jan. 5 and found out Collier County public schools made up a new rule, not allowing any private schools in Collier County to use any of their equipment i.e. a wrestling mat.

I was shocked as this has been a courtesy and tradition for all schools since I’ve been in Collier County 25 years. Also, the fact that the people that are at these private schools not only are taxpayers that fund the Collier County public schools, but in choosing to send their children to private schools lessen the burden on the Collier County public schools, so they can do more for the the public school students. What a horrible rule! Shame on you, Collier County public schools.Thank you Bonita Springs high school for lending First Baptist their wrestling mat.

Why don’t public and private schools in Collier and Lee counties have recycling bins and around their gymnasiums to collect plastic containers used and sold at concession stands.Let’s change these policies and teach our future leaders how to and how important it is to recycle.

Craig Robinson, Naples

Dogs barking near golf course

I live near the old Golden Gate Golf Course soon to be turned into a Jack Nicklaus course and a Club Corp/Big Shots venue. Dogs are barking for hours on end. I have counted eight dogs all barking at once. I’ve already reported it to the sheriff. I was told to record the barking for a whole 30 minutes but there can be no breaks of barking. Really. You want me to sneak out there and hide behind a bush and video and record the dogs and do it all again if they stop for a minute. The whole neighborhood cannot sit on their lanais and enjoy an evening dinner because, you guessed it, the dogs are barking. At night the dogs are barking. When I wake up the dogs are barking.

So I ask the people who are putting in the new Jack Nicklaus course and the new Club Corp/Big Shots and the Collier commissioners. Do you want your customer’s listening to dogs barking morning, noon and night while they are playing golf or enjoying the Big Shots venue? Better get your video cameras ready. You have some homework to do according to the sheriff.

Stacy Drude, Naples

'Solving' non-existent problems

The actual business of running a large state like Florida does not make for exciting headlines. Attention-grabbing narratives (real or imagined) about stolen elections, reverse racism, or (gasp!) the discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools or the workplace, are deliberately designed to stir up strong emotions. Once these false seeds are planted in the public’s mind, opportunistic politicians swoop in to draft laws that will “solve” these non-existent problems. Witness the governor’s “Don’t Say Gay” and “Stop WOKE” acts. No real work is involved in crafting these laws. They have already triggered costly lawsuits and only serve to instill fear among LGBTQ students and honest, hard-working teachers.

The governor’s latest attention grabbing stunt is the investigation of “wrongdoing” by COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, whatever that means. He asked the Florida Supreme Court to empanel a grand jury and they promptly obliged him. It is clear that the grand jury's primary purpose will be to generate headlines and boost the governor's standing with his base. Sadly, it will also stoke vaccine hesitancy. This will hurt all Americans in the long run as more and more people forgo even the most basic health care precautions like flu shots and childhood vaccinations.

While the governor continues his dog and pony show, real issues facing Floridians are ignored, swept under the rug, or kicked down the road. Case in point, the homeowners insurance crisis continues to fester. In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, it became painfully obvious that storm damage would only become more costly and widespread as new homes were built near coastlines and the strength and frequency of storms increased. Republicans have had complete control of the government since 1999, but this grave risk has never been sufficiently addressed.

The current bill making its way through the Florida Legislature increases protections for insurers, reduces homeowners’ rights, and uses $3 billion of taxpayer money to shore up the insurance industry. Even the sponsors of the bill say it is only a stopgap measure, and we can expect premiums to continue rising. While our leaders fill the airwaves with talk about stolen elections and the woke mob, Florida homeowners are left holding the bag.

Adam Molny, Naples

Value of 'trendy ideology'

It is my hope and expectation that all 40 state universities and colleges report that the vast majority of their programs of study actively teach inclusion and diversity and, more importantly, that their students exit the halls of academe with the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors needed to transform those cherished ideals into practice.  Should my hoped-for prediction  prove correct then the true cost/value of Ron DeSantis' feared "trendy ideology" becomes known -- priceless!

James L. DeBoy, Fort Myers

Second Amendment guarantee

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees the right of a member of a well regulated militia to keep and bear a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore flintlock.

W. Bosco, Bonita Springs  

Absence of hockey news

It is sad that here in snowbird land there is rarely any hockey news in The News-Press sports section. With two NHL teams in the State of Florida and our local Everblades it would be nice to see a little interest by the sports editor. This absence of hockey news was particularly noticeable during the recent exciting World Junior tournament played in Nova Scotia, Canada where the Canadian team won the gold medal and the USA team won bronze.

Denis Briggs, Bonita Springs

Speakership and Byron Donalds

I must admit the selection of the speaker of the House was at best embarrassing. The nickname Kevin 15 is amusing. What troubled me was using local Congressman Byron Donalds as a prop. Yes a prop! Did he think they said Byron; we've got to gives you props? I hope so. Or does Byron Donalds embrace Roger Stone's belief in: The only thing worse than people talking about you is; people not talking about you.

I see Byron as the ultimate opportunist, as first he was an Independent, then an Obama supporting Democrat; now he's a neo-conservative Republican? Like the rap song states: will the "real" Byron Donalds please stand up!

Robert Jenkins, Naples

Republicans scared of the truth

To all of you voters out there of all genders and races, beware. The new buzzword bullying by the governor is "trendy ideology" like he randomly used "woke."

Why are DeSantis and the Republicans so scared of the truth? Why are they trying to condition the children of all ages to their ideology instead of the truth? The new buzz since Trump is bending the facts and truths to question what you just saw or heard. To question our history that is documented is a fool's game.

To condition our education to be only focused on right-wing agendas to include race, gender, political beliefs and hate is unacceptable.

To exclude the possibility of imaginative thinking and looking forward including all possibilities is shameful. This is not the military.

This is what communism looks like.

Especially all races and women this is important. Get Woke.

Christianne Murphy, Golden Gate

What McCarthy dissenters wanted

The Republicans’ speaker balloting was a response to former Speaker Pelosi’s top-down legislative control where bills bypassed the committee process and Republicans were rarely allowed input. The Republicans wanted to return to Regular Order as set up in the original House rules.

McCarthy’s dissenters were upset about spiraling inflation, deficit spending, and the left’s insanity. They proposed moving power from the speaker’s office back to committees and members where it belongs. They wanted the appropriations committee to set budget parameters and timeline to pass 12 separate appropriation bills that fund government, set policy, expand oversight and develop a debt-ceiling strategy. Also, they proposed a supermajority for tax increases and spending offsets for new programs from the current budget.

The recent passage of the $1.7T Omnibus bill was an example frequently referenced by the dissenters. The bill was 4,000 pages of inflationary spending, jammed through by Pelosi in the middle of the night. The bill had 7,000 earmarks, no committee review, amendments, debate or opportunity to be read. It was written behind closed doors and designed to fill the pockets of Democrats and their causes.

Congress’s approval rating has been dismal. Republican dissenters want to restore confidence and openness by stopping Pelosi’s complete control process. These reforms will allow debate, and transparency in the House. Voters have had enough of out-of-control government. Speaker McCarthy’s success will be measured by restoring credibility and more responsive legislative policies aided by these reforms.

Frank Mazur, Fort Myers

The wealthy and taxes

Just a follow up to a January 7th letter (Taxes paid by wealthiest).

The contributor said that 400 of the richest Americans paid 8.2 percent of taxes and the average American paid 13.3 percent between 2016-2018. But there is more than meets the eye here.

According to the National Taxpayers Union, in 2020 the top 10 percent of earners paid 74 percent of all income taxes and the top 25 percent paid 89 percent. Altogether, the top 50 percent of filers earned 89 percent of all income and were responsible for 97.7 percent of all income tax paid in 2020.

So, could the rich afford to pay more? Sure.

Would it be nice if the average American, like myself, paid less? Absolutely.

Do the rich take advantage of the current tax laws? Who wouldn't?

But that is a whole lot of money being paid by a lot smaller percentage of the population.

Rick Manuel, Dade City

No concern for the suffering

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to Public Health Emergency (PHE) legislation there has been an increase in enrollment in the Florida Medicaid program. Coverage for those at risk, difficult to insure, low income elderly, and disabled have increased substantially. Florida had 376 million enrolled in March 2020 pre-pandemic, in November 2022 there were nearly 5.58 million, an increase of 1.8 million. This is only a portion of those in Florida without health care insurance and in need. If you recall in the start up of the ACA, Florida was offered $10 billion to insure that group of people for 10 years. The state refused.

Now the governor of Florida has joined 24 other Republican governors asking to end the PHE declaration. State has no plans to offer health care to those who will lose their insurance coverage. And in fact the state is welcoming ending their insurance. The state complains of a small amount of money it has to pay.

Florida is also one of those Republican states that is suing to maintain Title 42 legislation originally enacted to protect the U.S. from migrants entering with COVID-19. This makes it possible to have migrants remain in Mexico where they are exposed to crime, elements of the weather, no shelter, no health care and poor nutrition. These states would continue to do this in lieu of entering into discussions of reforming our immigration system, yet continue to complain about the southern border and the lack of policy.

It seems that those people (politicians) who want to be in charge but not care for the people are the ones who are making good on the suffering of people.

Lewis Robinson, Fort Myers

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Letters to the editor for Sunday, January 15, 2023